Missing
by eternal mist
Summary: Nightmares can leave anyone in the dark, and when you loose hope that is when they win. Can NiGHTS help Lucy before the Nightmarens get her remainding Idyea? He sure thinks he can!


Missing

Disclaimer: I do not own NiGHTS or the fire within, the only thing I have is my insanity and imagination

Summary: Lucy's having nightmares, here hope is gone, and David is dead. is there anyone who can help her? A certain purple jester sure thinks he can!

Mist: I everyone!

Whistle: This is a project she did for a writing class

Mist: Please tell me what you think in a review before I hand it in!

Whistle: We also hope that you will enjoy it

Lucy was curled up in her bed clenching her head in her hands as she cried.

It had been three months since David's death and the red-haired girl had yet to see a night that she hadn't cried herself to sleep.

She wanted to believe that everything was alright; that when she woke up in the morning David would be running around the house in a rush to get to college on time. He never was.

She drifted into a fitful sleep as exhaustion forced her into her nightmares.

She was in the arctic again and before her David's body lied unmoving. Blood was everywhere.

She looked around but she was all-alone.

She screamed out for help but no one was around to hear her…

She began to hear voices. They were telling her that it was all her fault, that she hadn't been quick enough. That was why he was dead.

She curled up in a little ball as the voices got louder and louder until…

The ground around her exploded into darkness as everything around her morphed into smoke-like monsters that began chasing her.

Normally at this point in her nightmare she would shut her eyes and wait to be jarred awake, but a light in the far off distance caught her eye.

She ran as fast as she could towards the light and the closer she got, more and more of the monsters began to fade behind her as the light consumed her…

She opened her eyes again and discovered that she was now standing in front of a large courtyard with an ancient looking fountain in the middle. Trees surrounded the courtyard. It was the most amazing place Lucy had ever seen, possibly ten times more beautiful than the library garden!

She slowly walked into the courtyard and looked around. She was wondering how she had gotten there…

"Hello there!" A cheerful voice greeted from behind her.

Lucy spun around to see what could only be described as a floating purple jester thingy. That was when she realized that she was still dreaming.

"My name is NiGHTS, what's yours?" The jester asked her.

"I'm Lucy." Lucy watched the floating jester closely. "What exactly are you?"

"Promise you won't scream and run away?" NiGHTS asked her.

Lucy nodded at what she was assuming was a him.

"I'm Nightmaren from the dark realm of Nightmare." NiGHTS had a huge smile on his face as if he was trying to make it seem less scary.

It didn't help…

Lucy barely managed not to scream and run away from the jester and instead settled for taking a large step back.

NiGHTS seemed worried. "Please don't be scared!" NiGHTS told her. "I'm not going to hurt you. I promise! I stopped being evil years ago when I ran away from home."

That caught Lucy's attention. "You ran away from home?" She asked the Nightmaren.

NiGHTS looked into the distance for a moment. "That's right," NiGHTS told her, "And I've never once regretted my decision."

"Isn't there anyone you miss?" Lucy asked him.

NiGHTS seemed to think about it for a minute. "I guess I do miss my brother and Jackle," NiGHTS said thoughtfully. "But they probably hate me now."

"I doubt it," Lucy told him. "Family is family, no matter what happens. I have a crazy witch for an aunt who tried to bring about the end of the world as we know it and I still love her."

NiGHTS laughed at her. "I suppose I should visit them sometime…" NiGHTS mussed. "What about you? I sense a great loneliness in you. Who is it that you miss?"

Lucy looked down at her feet. "Someone very important to me died a few months ago…" She was on the verge of tears. "And it was all MY fault!"

She burst into tears.

NiGHTS hugged her and told her it was all right. "Don't think like that Lucy," NiGHTS told her. "You tried your best, that's all that matters. I'm sure he knew how much you cared."

Lucy wiped away her tears. "I just wish it hadn't happened…"

NiGHTS suddenly smiled, almost insanely. "I just had a thought!" He exclaimed. "What if David didn't actually die?"

Lucy looked up at NiGHTS. "But he-"

"You said so yourself Lucy," NiGHTS told her. "You don't feel like he's dead, so he can't be!"

Lucy shook her head in confusion. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Sure it does!" NiGHTS told her confidently. "We can tell when something happens to someone who is very close to us. All you have to do is hope!"

"I don't know…" Lucy looked at the ground. She wanted to hope, but she didn't know how…

NiGHTS looked at her confused for a moment. "Oh I get it, you lost your Idyea of hope," NiGHTS put his hand on his forehead. "That's why you can't hope anymore."

"What's an Idyea?" She asked the Nightmaren.

"Idyea are the five pieces of your heart," NiGHTS explained to her before closing his eyes. "I sense that you've managed to hold onto your other Idyeas though… now lets dualise and get your hope back!"

"Dual-what?"

"Du-a-lise!" NiGHTS waved his finger at each syllable, probably to emphasize the point. "To put it simply to will allow us to fuse together, all you have to do is touch my hand."

NiGHTS held out his hand.

Lucy wasn't sure weather or not to trust the creature. It was a Nightmaren… But he hadn't done anything yet…

She reached out her hand.

When their hands touched a large flash of light took place and the next thing she knew she was floating in the air where NiGHTS had been.

Lucy freaked out and barely managed to stay upright as she flayed around in the air.

"Calm down," NiGHTS took over the body. He had a lot better flying control… "We have to find your hope before you wake up!"

"What's the point?" She asked him.

"Hope, courage, growth, purity and intelligence," NiGHTS answered her.

"Excuse me?"

"Those are the five Idyea that make up a visitors heart," NiGHTS told her. "If you loose even one of them you weaken your heart. If you manage to get your hope back, the nightmares will stop."

That caught Lucy's interest. "Really?" She asked him.

NiGHTS nodded.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Lucy asked in excitement of making the nightmares stop. "Let's get going."

NiGHTS laughed and flew them through a large door.

"This isn't right…" NiGHTS almost whispered.

Lucy looked around. They were back in her nightmare…

"Hello NiGHTS," A cold voice hissed from behind them.

The two spun around quickly as NiGHTS ended the dualisation.

"Reala," NiGHTS hissed back.

Lucy took a step back. She had a feeling that she didn't want to get involved in whatever was about to happen.

Reala smirked at them and pulled out a yellow glowing orb. "Looking for this dear brother?"

So THAT was NiGHTS's brother. Ya, she could see why NiGHTS ran away.

"Reala you coward!" NiGHTS growled at his brother, "Give that back!"

Reala tisked at him. "Is that anyway to treat family?" Reala asked mockingly.

"You should see my family reunions," Lucy joked. "Someone always winds up as a toad by the end."

"She's kidding, right?" Reala asked NiGHTS.

NiGHTS shrugged his shoulders.

"In any case," Reala brushed it off, "If you want your Idyea of hope, blah blah blah, you know where this is going."

"Not really," NiGHTS and Lucy answered at the same time.

Reala got frustrated. "Don't you know what tomorrow is, NiGHTS?" Reala asked his brother.

"Nope," NiGHTS told him. "Should I?"

Reala banged his head on an iceberg. "Tomorrow is the Nightmaren family reunion!" Reala snapped at him. "And if you agree to go, I'll give the visitor back her stupid hope, ok?"

NiGHTS didn't seem so sure. "I don't know…"

"Go on, NiGHTS," Lucy encouraged. "Weren't you saying earlier that you missed your brother?"

Reala was shocked. "You said that?" He asked.

NiGHTS scratched the back of his head. "Ya… Ok, I'll go…"

Reala hugged his little brother as he threw the Idyea of hope over to Lucy.

"Now let's go get ready for the celebration!"

NiGHTS looked over at Lucy and did a dramatic bow. "I hope we will meet again!"

Lucy smiled at him as her hands glowed yellow with the power of her newfound hope. "So do I!" She told him. "Do you really think I'll see David again?"

"So long as you hope, it will be so."

The world around Lucy faded as she woke up.

She was back in her room.

"I will never stop hoping for David…" She promised herself. "Thank you NiGHTS, thank you…"

And she never did.

Mist: Not bad considering the story itself wasn't allowed to go over 1500 words

Whistle: I was surprised that you managed to keep it down

Mist: I think that this is my best one shot yet!

Whistle: And its not even a LOTC story :)

Mist: See you when I work on my other stories *Waves good bye*


End file.
